Forward McDaniels taking flight for Clemson

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 10:11 PM

Sophomore forward's game soaring on both ends of the floor for the Tigers.

By ERIC BOYNTONeric.boynton@shj.com

Nobody has brought the Littlejohn Coliseum crowd to its feet more often with an abundance of shock and awe this season than the high-wire act of sophomore K.J. McDaniels.Clemson's 6-foot-6 forward has shown increasingly instinctive control over his major hops and regularly plays so high above the rim the guy has practically taken up part-time residence in the rafters.On a young squad predicated majorly on defense, McDaniels spotlights the style among the substance in bringing a touch of pizzazz to coach Brad Brownell's gritty and grinding ways.“That's how I've been since high school,” McDaniels said. “My sophomore year I started working out a lot when I saw I could do some extra things and its actually becoming natural now the more I do it.”What he does is tailor-made for any dunk contest as McDaniels on the attack off the break or sneakily swooping in from the baseline against an unassuming defense can become a sight to behold. His leaping ability is so explosive and pronounced that defenders guard the rack at their own risk and more often than not they end up playing second-fiddle on another McDaniels highlight.“After my seventh-grade year that's when I began to really be able to jump high,” McDaniels said. “It's fun because sometimes I don't even know when I'm going to get a big dunk so it's just about moving constantly and being at the right place at the right time and just being aggressive.”He sure brings out the aggressive side of the home fans that have come to love his high-flying ways.“Being kind of a fan favorite is a blessing,” he said. “The fans come to be entertained and that's what we're here to do. I'm always going to be playing for them as hard as I can.”But if you can't play defense you're not going to play for Brownell and there's the rub — some of McDaniels' most thrilling crowd-pleasing moments have come not on dunks but rather a spectacular array of blocked shots. McDaniels has fine-tuned his timing to where even his defensive plays have become cause for celebration. “He's obviously a terrific athlete who can jump extremely well, but he's quick off his feet,” Brownell said. “He just has a knack for shot-blocking. That's just something he's done all his life. Certainly the blocks for a guy his size is unique.”McDaniels is third in the ACC at 2.04 blocks per game behind only Georgia Tech's 6-foot-11 Daniel Miller (2.2) and Maryland's 7-foot-1 Alex Len (2.1). Among the top-eight shot-blockers in the conference only 6-foot-8 Wake Forest forward Devin Thomas is shorter than 6-foot-10.McDaniels leads the Tigers with 53 blocks and 31 steals in seeking to join Elden Campbell and Trevor Booker, a former Union standout, (a pair who both made the NBA) as the lone players in Clemson history with both 40 blocks and steals in a season. Just for good measure in his last outing, McDaniels threw down a two-handed follow over the towering Len in a loss at Maryland.“Coming into high school I got a lot bigger and played some inside and out and that's where I got my shot-blocking mentality from,” McDaniels said. “I've been blocking shots since then and have always worked on that and it helped because I played with a lot of advanced players growing up. I'd rather block a shot than dunk because I believe it starts on the defensive side. I get a block and that starts transition and could lead to any of us getting a dunk. The defense starts it all.”Just what Brownell would want to hear, but McDaniels has developed into a go-to scorer as well in becoming the team's second-leading scorer at 10.7 per game (an increase of nearly seven over his freshman campaign). He's also improved his rebounding from 1.8 to 4.9 and has developed a nice 3-point shooting touch.Ironically his decent shooting stems from long before he could jump out of the gym.“When I was little I used to shoot a lot because I couldn't jump, it was all shooting,” he said. “The 3-point shooting is just a product of work to be honest with you,” Brownell said. “It's just stuff we've worked with him on to get him to be a little more consistent and be more confident. We are trying to improve his all-around ball skills so he can be a complete player.”

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